Before you wash your fabrics, do you ever take the time to read the washing instructions from the manufacturer on the tag of your shirt? I will admit, I am guilty of not reading these instructions beforehand when washing my fabrics – as I just throw the fabrics into the washing cycle with my normal laundry care products hoping for the best! However, depending on the specific type of material used within your apparel, it may require the use and/or removal of certain products such as fabric softener, detergent, bleach, etc. Synthetic fabrics or polyester is a very difficult fabric to keep clean and even worse to keep the odors away from – as one wrong laundry care product used on these fabrics can increase or trap the existing odors on the fabric. Fabric Softener, in particular, is a laundry care product that does not mix well with workout clothes’ polyester material.

Below we are going to discuss what exactly is fabric softener and why you should never use it on your polyester or synthetic workout clothing!

Is Fabric Softener Bad for Clothes

Fabric softeners are a highly used, popular laundry care product that many people use in their laundry care routine. Fabric softener was designed to reduce static cling and help fabrics feel softer. They work by coating the fabric in a waxy film – yes, you heard right, a waxy film! When you use traditional fabric softeners a residue is left behind on the linens which will give it that soft fresh smell, but in reality, it is really dirty. This coating that is left behind by the fabric softener on your fabrics also does a great job of trapping grime and stink, especially on workout clothing.

Should I Use Fabric Softener

Did you know that fabric softener can affect the performance of your performance wear gym clothes? Today, most gym clothes use a moisture-wicking material (polyester or a blend of synthetic fabrics) that shields off sweat, while still keeping you cool during your workout. However, when you utilize fabric softener in your workout clothes washing cycle it will essentially block the wicking power of the fabric, which will leave you with stinky, ineffective clothes for your gym apparel. It is a safe-bet to avoid the use of fabric softener on your moisture-wicking workout clothing. By avoiding fabric softener in your workout clothes wash load you will help maintain the integrity of the fabric of your gym apparel to ensure that it can still rightfully perform its tasks of repelling sweat and keeping your body cool during an exercise.

Fabric Softener vs Detergent

Detergent and fabric softener are not interchangeable laundry care products that can be substituted for the other. Both detergent and fabric softener each contain different properties that perform different functions in your washing machine and on your fabrics. Detergent is there for the dirty work that your apparel gets put through, particularly workout clothing. During the average day, clothing can pick up sweat, skin cells, food particles, dirt, and more. That’s why we have laundry detergent, to help remove all of this dirt and grime on our fabrics – just like shampoo cleans your hair, detergent does the heavy lifting when it comes to cleaning the fabrics of your clothing. Whereas fabric softener protects your clothing – similar to how conditioner protects your hair. Fabric softener works by strengthening the fabrics and helping to reduce friction during the laundry process. This ultimately helps clothes keep their original shape, reduce pilling and fuzz, and reduce color fading.

When Should You Use Fabric Softener

Determining when you should use fabric softener and when not to use fabric softener is important to up-keeping the quality and effectiveness of your fabrics. We have learned of the negative effects that fabric softener has on your synthetic, polyester workout clothing – but when should you apply fabric softener to your wash load? There are a few instances in which you should bust out your fabric softener for your wash load, these situations include the following:

• Maintaining the Appearance of New Fabrics: The material and fibers of your new clothing can become worn and tired looking over time as you wash the fabrics more and more. By using fabric softener on your new clothes, you can help make these fibers more elastic, and therefore leaving the clothes looking newer for a longer period of time.
• If You Live in a Hard Water Area: Specific regions and areas where the mineral content of water is high, fabric softener can be essential. When using fabric softener, it will help to eliminate the effects of hard water on your clothing to make fabrics feel soft and revived again.
• Apply to Bed Linens: The feeling of freshly cleaned bed linens can be accomplished by the use of fabric softener. It will leave your bed feeling soft and smelling good.

How to Wash Polyester Workout Clothes

The process of washing your polyester workout clothes can be intimating for many, as it requires just the right touch of laundry care products and tips to successfully wash and deodorize these clothing items. We are going to go step-by-step on what you need to do to wash smelly workout clothing effectively, so that there is no more odor left harbored within the fabric of these garments.

1. Turn Gym Apparel Inside Out: When we workout or secrete sweat it gets absorbed in the fabric near our skin, which means the inside of our shirts and apparel. Turning your workout clothing inside out before washing will allow for water and detergent to better access the source of the sweat odors and leave your clothing cleaner after the wash cycle.
2. Use the Right Amount of Detergent: A big mistake that many people make when washing clothes is adding to much detergent in their cycle. Using more detergent won’t make your clothes cleaner, it will instead buildup soap residue that traps odors in the clothing.
3. Boost Laundry with Sport Odor Eliminator Additive: Boosters are used in laundry in addition to regular detergent to accomplish a capability that is not achievable by standard detergent. Utilizing a sport odor eliminating additive like the OdorKlenz Sport Laundry Additive is revolutionary for fighting off harsh sweat odors without the use of chemicals or masking agents.
4. Avoid Heat: Elastic clothing like workout apparel does not like being exposed to high heats. The heat will actually work at making the odors in the fabric more pronounced, which is why you should avoid placing gym apparel in the dryer, and rather air these fabrics out to dry.